The inventions disclosed herein relate generally to improved medical care for intubated patients, and more particularly to a novel multiple access respiratory manifold for ventilating, aspirating, monitoring, sampling, and providing therapeutic delivery to the respiratory tracts of intubated patients, including infants, adolescents, and adults.
Respiratory patient care is a dynamically developing field in medicine, ranging in its needs from infants to the aged. The range of respiratory ailments, both temporary and permanent, to which such patients are subjected, are many and varied. For example, the range of procedures for intubated patients may include the following: ventilation, aspiration, oxygenation, sampling, visual inspection, in-line sensing, pressure monitoring, flushing, medicating and/or lavage. Most problems now center or focus on multiple needs of the patient and accommodation of multiple treatments, some to be performed at the same time. The lack of equipment to facilely, efficiently, and safely accomplish the multiple therapies in the best interest of the patient has been and continues to be a concern.
When patients receive multiple respiratory therapies or treatments while intubated, problems may occur, including problems with a respiratory access manifold. Multiple devices may need to be coupled to a respiratory manifold. These multiple devices may pull, twist, torque, or otherwise put undesirable pressure on the respiratory manifold. This unwanted pressure or torque may then be passed on to the endotracheal tube, and even a patient's throat or upper respiratory tract. There is a need, however, to provide a common manifold through which all necessary devices are coupled, in order to reduce infection.
Such a respiratory access manifold desirably has multiple ports, and a majority of the ports desirably have some degree of movability to reduce pressure, tension and/or torque on the endotracheal tube. Such a manifold desirably permits quickly and easily coupling and removal of a variety of devices without compromising the quality of health care to the patient. Such a device desirably operates well within a closed circuit ventilating system.